The 1998 Prankote massacre was the beheading of 26

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s by Islamist militants in the villages of Prankote and Dakikote in the

Udhampur district Udhampur is a district in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Covering an area of in the Himalayan mountains, the district has its headquarters in the town of Udhampur. The Northern Command headquarters of the Indian Army is lo ...

(now in

Reasi district Reasi district is a district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The Reasi district is bordered by Udhampur district and Ramban district in the east, Jammu district in the south, Rajouri district in the west and by Kulgam distri ...

) of the erstwhile

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

on 17 April, 1998.

Aftermath

It took 10 hours for news to reach the authorities and security forces reached only after a day. Then Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister

Farooq Abdullah Farooq Abdullah (born 21 October 1937) is an Indian politician who was Ex. President of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He has served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982, and as the union minister fo ...

said "This a shocking incident. I have seen tragedies earlier, but this was bloodcurdling. No bullets were fired, the villagers were butchered." The massacre led forced migration of nearly 1,000 people to Reasi, Pouni Thanpal, Chasana and other towns of the district. In April 2008, the mastermind of this attack - Abdul Haque alias Jahangir, an Islamic terrorist belonging to

Hizbul Mujahideen Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahideen ( ar, حزب المجاھدین, ), is an Islamism, Islamist militant organization operating in the Kashmir region. Its goal is to separate Kashmir Valley, Kashmir from India and merge it with ...

, was killed in an encounter with Indian security forces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prankote Massacre Terrorist incidents in India in 1998 Massacres in 1998 Islamic terrorism in India Massacres in India Udhampur district Persecution of Hindus Persecution by Muslims 1990s in Jammu and Kashmir Religiously motivated violence in India Massacres in Jammu and Kashmir April 1998 events in Asia Islamic terrorist incidents in 1998 Massacres of Hindus in Kashmir